Diana Louise Houck v. Substitute Trustee Service

Filing

PUBLISHED AUTHORED OPINION filed. Originating case number: 5:13-cv-00066-DSC. [999612967]. [13-2326]

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PUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 13-2326

DIANA LOUISE HOUCK; STEVEN G. TATE,
Plaintiffs - Appellants,
v.
SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE SERVICES, INC.,
Defendant - Appellee,
and
LIFESTORE BANK; GRID FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.,
Defendants.
------------------------PAULA STEINHILBER BERAN,
Court-Assigned Amicus Counsel.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina, at Statesville.
David S. Cayer,
Magistrate Judge. (5:13-cv-00066-DSC)

Argued:

May 12, 2015

Decided:

July 1, 2015

Before NIEMEYER, DIAZ, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.

Vacated, reversed in part, and remanded by published opinion.
Judge Niemeyer wrote the opinion, in which Judge Diaz and Judge
Floyd joined.

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M. Shane Perry, COLLUM & PERRY, Mooresville, North Carolina, for
Appellants.
Jeffrey Allen Bunda, HUTCHENS LAW FIRM, Charlotte,
North Carolina, for Appellee. Paula Steinhilber Beran, TAVENNER
& BERAN, PLC, Richmond, Virginia, as Court-Assigned Amicus
Counsel.

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NIEMEYER, Circuit Judge:
Diana Houck commenced this action under 11 U.S.C. § 362(k),
alleging

that

the

defendants

foreclosed

on

and

sold

her

homestead in violation of the automatic stay triggered by her
filing of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition.

The district court

granted the motion to dismiss filed by one of the defendants,
Substitute

Trustee

concluding

that

Services,

Houck

Inc.

(the

to

allege

failed

“Substitute
facts

that

Trustee”),
plausibly

supported her allegation that the violation of the automatic
stay

was

willful,

a

necessary

element

of

a

§

362(k)

claim.

Because we find to the contrary, we vacate the district court’s
judgment, reverse its order dismissing Houck’s claims against
the Substitute Trustee, and remand for further proceedings.

I
In 2000, Houck’s father deeded to her part of the family
farm located in Ashe County, North Carolina.

After Houck had

secured financing from a predecessor to LifeStore Bank, F.S.A.,
she and her then-fiancé, Ricky Penley, placed a mobile home on
part of the homestead.
In 2007, Houck refinanced the loan so that she and Penley
could remodel the family farmhouse, but within a year, she lost
her job and began having difficulty making her loan payments.
In the summer of 2009, after she and Penley were married, Houck

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asked LifeStore for a loan modification.

LifeStore, however,

referred her to Grid Financial Services, Inc., a debt collection
agency, which denied her request because she was unemployed.
Houck thereafter defaulted on her loan.
In July 2011, the Hutchens Law Firm (formerly Hutchens,
Senter, Kellam & Pettit, P.A.) served Penley with a notice of
foreclosure.

To stop the foreclosure proceedings, Houck, acting

pro se, filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition on September 12,
2011.
the

The next day, the Hutchens Law Firm notified the Clerk of

Superior

bankruptcy

Court

petition

of

Ashe

and

County

consequently

proceedings had to be stayed.
bankruptcy

court

that

dismissed

Houck

that

had

all

filed

a

foreclosure

A few weeks later, however, the

Houck’s

petition

because

she

had

failed to file certain schedules and statements in accordance
with applicable bankruptcy rules, and the Substitute Trustee, by
its counsel, the Hutchens Law Firm, reactivated the foreclosure
proceedings.
On December 16, 2011, Houck, again acting pro se, filed a
second

Chapter

13

bankruptcy

foreclosure proceedings.

petition,

again

to

stop

the

On that same day, Penley called the

Hutchens Law Firm to notify it of the bankruptcy filing.

The

employee of the Firm with whom Penley spoke acknowledged that
the Firm had a file for Houck.

Penley told the employee that

Houck had filed a second bankruptcy petition earlier that day,
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and he provided the employee with the new case number.

On that

same day, Penley also contacted LifeStore to notify it of the
new bankruptcy petition.

LifeStore told Penley that it intended

to wait for notice from the bankruptcy court before taking any
action.
On December 18, 2011, two days after Houck had filed her
second bankruptcy petition, the bankruptcy court ordered Houck
to

appear

dismissed.
Trustee,

and

show

why

her

petition

should

not

be

Two days later, on December 20, 2011, the Substitute

represented

homestead

cause

at

a

by

the

Hutchens

foreclosure

sale.

Law
The

Firm,

sold

following

Houck’s

day,

the

bankruptcy court dismissed Houck’s second bankruptcy petition.
Because Houck had filed the second petition with the purpose of
preventing the sale of her homestead and it had already been
sold,

she

did

not

object

to

the

petition’s

dismissal.

Thereafter, Penley endeavored unsuccessfully to undo the sale.
In March 2012, after the sheriff issued a notice to vacate,
Houck

and

Penley

left

the

homestead

and

moved

into

a

small

cabin.
Houck retained counsel and commenced this action, naming as
defendants LifeStore, Grid Financial, and the Substitute Trustee
and asserting a claim against them under 11 U.S.C. § 362(k) for
violation

of

the

automatic

stay.

related state law claims.
5

She

also

asserted

several

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The

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Substitute

complaint

under

contending

that

Trustee

Federal
the

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filed

a

motion

to

dismiss

the

Rule

of

Civil

Procedure

12(b)(6),

complaint

had

failed

to

that

allege

the

Substitute Trustee was aware of the second bankruptcy petition’s
filing at the time it conducted the foreclosure sale of Houck’s
homestead.

The district court granted the motion by order dated

October 1, 2013, concluding that Houck had “failed to allege
that [she] sent notice of the second petition to [the Substitute
Trustee] or that [the Substitute Trustee] had any notice of the
[bankruptcy] petition.”

Based on that deficiency, the court

also dismissed Houck’s related state law claims.
2013,

Houck

court’s

filed

order

an

interlocutory

dismissing

her

appeal

claims

On October 28,

from

against

the

district

the

Substitute

Grid

Financial,

Trustee.
The

remaining

defendants,

various

LifeStore

motions

to

and

thereafter

filed

dismiss

or

for

summary

judgment.

In one of those motions, Grid Financial contended

that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over
Houck’s § 362(k) claim, maintaining that the provision did not
create

a

private

cause

of

action

outside of the bankruptcy court.

that

could

be

adjudicated

By order dated February 20,

2014, the district court granted Grid Financial’s motion and
dismissed

Houck’s

complaint,

agreeing

that

it

lacked

subject

matter jurisdiction over Houck’s federal claim for violation of
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the automatic stay and declining to exercise its discretion to
adjudicate her state law claims.

The Clerk of Court thereafter

entered judgment and closed the case.
Subsequently,

we,

sua

sponte,

dismissed

Houck’s

pending

appeal of the district court’s October 1, 2013 order dismissing
the

Substitute

Trustee

interlocutory order.

because

it

had

been

taken

that

district

the

jurisdictional

court’s

Financial’s

February

motion

to

defect

20,

dismiss

2014
for

was

order

lack

Houck

filed

motions

We concluded

not

cured

by

granting

of

jurisdiction, as that order was also not final.
Thereafter,

an

Houck v. Substitute Tr. Servs., Inc., 582

F. App’x 230, 230 (4th Cir. 2014) (per curiam).
further

from

subject

the
Grid

matter

Id. at 230 n.*.

requesting

that

the

district court reopen the case and reconsider its February 20,
2014 order.

The district court denied the motions, reiterating

that it had finally decided the case with that order.

Houck

then filed an unopposed motion in our court for clarification,
seeking to resolve her procedural predicament created by the
district

court’s

statement

that

its

February

20,

2014

order

finally closed the case and our contrary statement that that
order

was

not

final.

issued on

our

dismissal

In
of

response,
Houck’s

rehearing.

7

we

recalled

appeal

and

the

mandate

granted

panel

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her

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now-reopened

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appeal,

Houck

contends

that,

in

dismissing her § 362(k) claim against the Substitute Trustee,
the district court applied the wrong legal standard for ruling
on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion and erroneously concluded that her
complaint failed to allege sufficient facts to state a plausible
claim for relief.

II
At the outset, we determine whether we have jurisdiction to
hear Houck’s appeal.

See, e.g., Chevron Corp. v. Page (In re

Naranjo), 768 F.3d 332, 342 (4th Cir. 2014).
In its October 1, 2013 order, the district court granted
the Substitute Trustee’s motion to dismiss on the ground that
Houck’s

complaint

failed

to

allege

that

she

had

given

the

Substitute Trustee notice of her bankruptcy petition before the
Substitute Trustee sold her homestead, thus precluding any claim
that the Substitute Trustee’s conduct was willful.

But because

LifeStore and Grid Financial were not parties to that motion and
remained defendants in the action, Houck’s appeal of the October
1 dismissal order was interlocutory.

Moreover, Houck made no

request that the district court certify the order as a final
judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b), although
it

appears

requirement.

that

she

could

have

satisfied

that

rule’s

See, e.g., Nystedt v. Nigro, 700 F.3d 25, 29 (1st

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Cir. 2012) (upholding a Rule 54(b) certification of an order
granting a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss filed by some but not
all

of

appeal

the
sua

defendants).
sponte

Consequently,

because

it

was

we

not

dismissed

taken

from

decision, as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1291(a).

Houck’s
a

final

Houck, 582 F.

App’x at 230.
After Houck requested that we reconsider the effect of the
district

court’s

Financial’s

motion

February
to

20,

dismiss

2014
for

order

lack

of

granting
subject

Grid
matter

jurisdiction, we recalled our mandate and now hear this appeal
to consider her arguments.
If the district court’s February 20, 2014 order, entered
several

months

against

the

Houck’s

appeal

after

the

Substitute
might

court

Trustee,
be

had
was

reviewable

dismissed
a

final

under

Houck’s

claims

judgment,

the

then

doctrine

of

cumulative finality -- a finality achieved by the cumulative
effect of the October 1, 2013 dismissal order and the February
20,

2014

dismissal

order.

See

Equip.

Fin.

Grp.,

Inc.

v.

Traverse Computer Brokers, 973 F.2d 345, 347 (4th Cir. 1992)
(recognizing
claims

are

cumulative
dismissed,

finality
albeit

at

in

circumstances

different

times,

where

all

before

the

appeal taken from the first dismissal order is considered).
Upon close review of the district court’s February 20, 2014
order, we conclude that it was indeed a final judgment.
9

In that

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order, the district court granted Grid Financial’s motion to
dismiss -- LifeStore was not a party to the motion -- concluding
that it did not have subject matter jurisdiction over Houck’s
§ 362(k) claim for violation of the Bankruptcy Code’s automatic
stay.

Because subject matter jurisdiction goes to the power of

the court to adjudicate a claim, an order dismissing a claim for
lack of subject matter jurisdiction necessarily dismisses the
claim as to all defendants.

And, indeed, the district court’s

February 20, 2014 order reflected this effect by dismissing the
entire complaint without limiting its ruling to any particular
party.

Consistently, the district court also directed the Clerk

of Court to enter judgment by way of a separate docket entry, as
required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 58 for entry of a
final judgment.
intended

to

Finally, the court later confirmed that it had

dismiss

the

entire

case

when

it

denied

Houck’s

motions to reopen the case and to reconsider its February 20,
2014 ruling.

Specifically, it stated that “[o]n February 20,

2014, the Court dismissed [Houck’s] only federal claim,” and it
declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over her pendent
state law claims.

Because the district court’s February 20,

2014 order disposed of the entire case, “leav[ing] nothing for
[it] to do,” United States v. Breeden, 366 F.3d 369, 372 (4th
Cir. 2004) (quoting Coopers & Lybrand v. Livesay, 437 U.S. 463,
467 (1978)) (internal quotation marks omitted), the order was a
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final judgment.

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This brings us to consideration of the doctrine

of cumulative finality.
In Equipment Finance, we articulated the requirements for
application of the doctrine.

There, the district court granted

summary judgment to one of two defendants, and the plaintiff
appealed the district court’s order.
346-47.

Equip. Fin., 973 F.2d at

While the appeal was pending, the plaintiff voluntarily

dismissed its claim against the second defendant.

Id. at 347.

On appeal, we rejected the first defendant’s argument that we
lacked jurisdiction, concluding that the subsequent dismissal of
the

claim

against

consideration

of

the
the

remaining
appeal

defendant

“effectively

finality requirements of Rule 54(b).”

Id.

prior

to

our

satisfie[d]

the

Noting that the

case’s “procedural circumstances . . . warrant[ed] a practical
approach to finality,” we recognized a doctrine of “cumulative
finality

where

all

joint

claims

or

all

multiple

parties

dismissed prior to the consideration of the appeal.”

Id.

are
The

doctrine applies, however, only when the appellant appeals from
an

order

that

the

district

court

immediate appeal under Rule 54(b).

could

have

certified

for

See In re Bryson, 406 F.3d

284, 287-89 (4th Cir. 2005).
In

this

case,

the

district

court

dismissed

completely

Houck’s claims against the Substitute Trustee in its October 1,
2013 order, leaving open only her claims against LifeStore and
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Grid Financial.

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Because the court could have certified such an

order as a final judgment under Rule 54(b) and because the court
later entered final judgment against the remaining defendants
with its February 20, 2014 order before we considered Houck’s
interlocutory
cumulative

appeal,

finality

we

conclude

applies

and

that
that

the
we

doctrine

therefore

of
have

jurisdiction to hear her appeal. 1

III
A second jurisdictional issue is presented by the district
court’s February 20, 2014 order, in which the court dismissed
Houck’s

federal

claim

matter jurisdiction.

on

the

ground

that

it

lacked

subject

Of course, if the court lacked subject

matter jurisdiction to hear Houck’s § 362(k) claim, it could not
have ruled on the Substitute Trustee’s Rule 12(b)(6) motion to
dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be
granted.
As noted above, on February 20, 2014, the district court
concluded,

without

further

discussion,

1

that

a

claim

under

Houck argues, unnecessarily as it turns out, that we could
hear her appeal under the collateral order doctrine.
That
doctrine, however, would not be applicable here, because Houck’s
claim against the Substitute Trustee was not a collateral matter
and Houck could well have obtained review of the dismissal order
on appeal from the final judgment. See generally Mohawk Indus.,
Inc. v. Carpenter, 558 U.S. 100 (2009); Swint v. Chambers Cnty.
Comm’n, 514 U.S. 35 (1995).
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§ 362(k)

for

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violation

of

the

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automatic

stay

could

only

be

brought in a bankruptcy court, not in a district court.

It

relied for support on Scott v. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc.,
326 F. Supp. 2d 709, 719 (E.D. Va.), aff’d sub nom. Scott v.
Wells Fargo & Co., 67 F. App’x 238 (4th Cir. 2003) (per curiam),
where

the

violation
§ 362[k]

district
of

court

§ 362[k]

arguably

is

creates

stated,

“[I]t

cognizable
[a]

in

private

is

doubtful

this

that

Court.

right

of

a

While

action

for

willful violation of [the] automatic stay, [it] does not create
a private cause of action outside of the Bankruptcy Court for
violations of [the] automatic stay.”

(Citation omitted).

The

Scott court in turn relied for support on Dashner v. Cate, 65
B.R. 492 (N.D. Iowa 1986).
But

in

Dashner,

the

district

court

did

not

consider

§ 362(k) because, at the time of the stay violation at issue
there, § 362(k) had not yet been enacted.

65 B.R. at 494.

The

Dashner court simply held that before 1984 -- i.e., before the
creation of what is now a § 362(k) cause of action -- nothing in
the

Bankruptcy

Code

“indicate[d]

that

Congress

intended

to

create a private right of action outside of [the] bankruptcy
court” for a violation of the automatic stay.

Id. at 495.

To

reach that conclusion, the court pointed to Stacy v. Roanoke
Mem’l Hosps. (In re Stacy), 21 B.R. 49 (Bankr. W.D. Va. 1982).
The Stacy court likewise considered a pre-1984 violation of the
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automatic stay and concluded, “The proscriptive provision of the
Code in question here, the § 362 automatic stay provision, is
not a proscription to be enforced by a debtor or any third
party.

A stay is an order of the [bankruptcy] court, to be

enforced by the [bankruptcy] court.”
Thus,

both

Dashner

and

Id. at 52.

Stacy,

on

which

Scott

relied,

analyzed the pre-1984 version of § 362, which lacked subsection
(k)’s private cause of action, and therefore are inapposite.
For that reason, neither the district court’s opinion in Scott
nor our unpublished, one-paragraph affirmance of that decision
supports the district court’s determination below that only a
bankruptcy court may entertain a § 362(k) claim.
Both Houck and the Substitute Trustee now agree that the
district court erred in determining that it lacked jurisdiction
to

adjudicate

matter

Houck’s

jurisdiction

§

362(k)

cannot

be

claim.

But

conferred

by

because

subject

agreement,

see

McCorkle v. First Pa. Banking & Trust Co., 459 F.2d 243, 251
(4th Cir. 1972), we appointed counsel to submit an amicus curiae
brief defending the district court’s position on the issue. 2

We

turn now to whether the district court erred in concluding that
it

lacked

subject

matter

jurisdiction

to

adjudicate

a

claim

brought under § 362(k).
2

We are grateful to Paula Steinhilber Beran, Esq., for
providing this “friend of the court” service to us.
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As background, the filing of a bankruptcy petition operates
immediately to stay creditors from pursuing certain enumerated
collection actions against the debtor or the debtor’s estate.
See 11 U.S.C. § 362(a).

This automatic stay is “one of the

fundamental debtor protections provided by the bankruptcy laws.”
S. Rep. No. 95-989, at 54 (1978), reprinted in 1978 U.S.C.C.A.N.
5787, 5840.

“It gives the debtor a breathing spell from his

creditors” and “stops all collection efforts, all harassment,
and all foreclosure actions.”
Before

1984,

when

Id.

Congress

enacted

§

362(k)

(designated

§ 362(h) when enacted), the automatic stay appeared to be merely
proscriptive.

Section

362(a)

provided

that

the

filing

of

a

bankruptcy petition “operates as a stay,” without prescribing
any

sanction

for

its

violation.

11

U.S.C.

§

362(a).

The

Bankruptcy Code simply gave the bankruptcy court authority to
administer the proscription.
the

bankruptcy

court

to

For example, § 362(d) authorized

“grant

relief

from

the

stay,”

and

§ 362(e) and § 362(f) otherwise authorized the bankruptcy court
to

regulate

the

stay’s

length,

conditions,

and

termination.

Thus, courts had held that the § 362(a) automatic-stay provision
did not provide a party with an independent right of action for
damages but rather with a procedural mechanism to be regulated
and enforced by the bankruptcy court.
at 52.
15

See, e.g., Stacy, 21 B.R.

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In

1984,

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however,

with

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the

enactment

of

the

Bankruptcy

Amendments and Federal Judgeship Act of 1984, Pub. L. No. 98353, 98 Stat. 333 (codified in scattered sections of 11 and 28
U.S.C.), Congress

created

a

private

cause

of

action

for

the

willful violation of a stay, authorizing an individual injured
by

any

such

§ 362(k). 3

violation

to

recover

damages.

See

11

U.S.C.

In creating the cause of action, Congress did not

specify which courts possess jurisdiction over a § 362(k) claim
for violation of the automatic stay.
Under the Bankruptcy Amendments and Federal Judgeship Act,
the

district

courts

were

given

“original

and

exclusive

jurisdiction in all cases under title 11,” 28 U.S.C. § 1334(a),
and

“original

but

not

exclusive

jurisdiction

of

all

civil

proceedings arising under title 11, or arising in or related to
cases

3

under

title

11,”

id.

§

1334(b).

But

they

were

Section 362(k) reads in full:

(1) Except
as
provided
in
paragraph
(2),
an
individual injured by any willful violation of a stay
provided by this section shall recover actual damages,
including
costs
and
attorneys’
fees,
and,
in
appropriate
circumstances,
may
recover
punitive
damages.
(2) If such violation is based on an action taken by
an entity in the good faith belief that subsection (h)
applies to the debtor, the recovery under paragraph
(1) of this subsection against such entity shall be
limited to actual damages.

16

also

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authorized

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to

refer

proceedings.

to

Pg: 17 of 33

bankruptcy

judges

any

such

cases

or

See id. § 157(a); Exec. Benefits Ins. Agency v.

Arkison, 134 S. Ct. 2165, 2171 (2014).

In addition, the Act

authorized the district courts to withdraw, in whole or in part,
any case or proceeding that they had referred.
§ 157(d).

In

short,

while

the

district

See 28 U.S.C.

courts

were

given

jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases, Congress also delegated to
the bankruptcy courts, “as judicial officers of the [district
courts],” Wellness Int’l, Ltd. v. Sharif, 135 S. Ct. 1932, 1945
(2015)

(quoting

omitted),

28

U.S.C.

adjudicatory

§

151)

authority,

(internal
subject

quotation
to

the

marks

district

courts’ supervision as particularized in § 157 and the limits
imposed by the Constitution.
the

Act,

in

conferring

such

In no circumstance, however, did
adjudicatory

authority,

give

a

bankruptcy court jurisdiction to the exclusion of a district
court.
A claim under § 362(k) for violation of the automatic stay
is a cause of action arising under Title 11, and as such, a
district

court

has

jurisdiction

over

it.

Of

course,

under

§ 157(a), a district court may refer a § 362(k) claim to the
bankruptcy court.

If the § 362(k) claim did not “stem[] from

the bankruptcy itself or would [not] necessarily be resolved in
the claims allowance process,” Stern v. Marshall, 131 S. Ct.
2594, 2618 (2011), or would only “augment the bankruptcy estate
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and would otherwise exis[t] without regard to any bankruptcy
proceeding,”

Wellness,

135

S.

Ct.

at

1941

(alteration

in

original) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted), the
§ 157 referral would be for recommended findings of fact and
conclusions of law, see Exec. Benefits, 134 S. Ct. at 2171-72,
2175.

But even if the § 157 referral authorized the bankruptcy

court to adjudicate the claim to final judgment, it would not
deprive

the

district

court

of

jurisdiction.

See

28

U.S.C.

§ 1334(b); see also Justice Cometh, Ltd. v. Lambert, 426 F.3d
1342, 1343 (11th Cir. 2005) (per curiam); Price v. Rochford, 947
F.2d 829, 832 n.1 (7th Cir. 1991).

But see Eastern Equip. &

Servs. Corp. v. Factory Point Nat’l Bank, 236 F.3d 117, 121 (2d
Cir. 2001) (per curiam) (stating, without considering 28 U.S.C.
§ 1334, that a § 362(k) claim “must be brought in the bankruptcy
court,

rather

than

in

the

district

court,

which

only

has

appellate jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases”).
The

amicus

contends

that

jurisdiction

to

hear

Houck’s

§ 362(k) claim was vested solely in the bankruptcy court because
of a standing referral order, entered under § 157(a), which has
been in place in one form or another in the Western District of
North Carolina since July 30, 1984.

At the time relevant to

this case, that order provided that “all bankruptcy matters”
were

“automatically

amicus argues

that,

referred”
under

to

the

§ 157(d),
18

bankruptcy
until

such

judge.
time

as

The
that

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reference

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is

jurisdiction

withdrawn,
to

the

the

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district

bankruptcy

court

court.

She

has

ceded

its

maintains

that

§ 157(d)’s requirement that “cause” be shown for a discretionary
withdrawal of a referral confirms her interpretation.

See 28

U.S.C. § 157(d) (“The district court may withdraw, in whole or
in part, any case or proceeding referred under this section, on
its own motion or on timely motion of any party, for cause
shown” (emphasis added)).
But nowhere in the text of § 157 is there any indication
that the provision is jurisdictional, as the amicus claims.
text

indicates

that

§

157

is

simply

a

procedural

The

mechanism

authorizing a bankruptcy court, upon referral from a district
court

(1)

to

hear

constitutionally

core

claims

to

final

judgment, subject to appeal in the district court, and (2) to
recommend

findings

of

fact

and

conclusions

of

law

to

the

district court in constitutionally non-core matters for de novo
review and final judgment by the district court.

See Exec.

Benefits, 134 S. Ct. at 2171-72, 2175.

Indeed, in Stern, the

Court

more

observed

regulator,

that

directing

§

157

where

is

little

adjudication

of

than

a

traffic

bankruptcy

matters

can take place, and that it does not implicate subject matter
jurisdiction.

131 S. Ct. at 2607.

As the Court stated:

Section 157 allocates the authority to enter final
judgment between the bankruptcy court and the district

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court.
That allocation does not implicate questions
of subject matter jurisdiction.
Id. (emphasis added) (citation omitted); see also Home Ins. Co.
of Ill. v. Adco Oil Co., 154 F.3d 739, 742 (7th Cir. 1998) (“[A]
judge’s failure to follow orderly procedures [under § 157] for
allocating bankruptcy matters within a district court does not
deprive the court of subject-matter jurisdiction”).
with

its

ruling,

the

Stern

Court

held

that

Consistent
because

the

provisions of § 157 were not jurisdictional, their proscriptions
could be waived.

131 S. Ct. at 2607-08.

In the same vein, the fact that litigants may consent to a
bankruptcy court’s adjudication of a non-core proceeding also
indicates

that

§ 157(c)(2)
statutorily

§

157

is

(permitting
non-core

not

jurisdictional.

bankruptcy

proceedings

with

courts
the

See
to

parties’

28

U.S.C.

adjudicate
consent);

Wellness, 135 S. Ct. at 1939 (holding that bankruptcy courts
may, with the parties’ knowing and voluntary consent, adjudicate
Stern claims -- i.e., statutorily core but constitutionally noncore proceedings).
Thus, even if Houck’s § 362(k) claim was indeed subject to
the

Western

District

of

North

Carolina’s

standing

order

referring “all bankruptcy matters” to the bankruptcy court, the
district court’s failure to follow the procedural rule did not
deprive it of subject matter jurisdiction.

20

The district court

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always had original jurisdiction over any bankruptcy matter, and
any breach of § 157 would “not implicate questions of subject
matter jurisdiction.”

Stern, 131 S. Ct. at 2607; see also Home

Ins. Co., 154 F.3d at 742.

While it may be that the district

court should have sent Houck’s § 362(k) claim to the bankruptcy
court

in

accordance

with

its

standing

order,

the

amicus

has

failed to explain how not doing so deprived the district court
of the original jurisdiction that Congress bestowed upon it by
way of § 1334.

See Justice Cometh, 426 F.3d at 1343 (stating

that, although the district courts may refer to the bankruptcy
courts proceedings arising under Title 11, “the explicit § 1334
grant

of

original

forecloses

a

jurisdiction

conclusion

that

over
the

Title

11

district

cases

court[s]

clearly
lack[]

subject matter jurisdiction over [§ 362(k) claims]”); Price, 947
F.2d

at

832

n.1

(observing

that

the

plaintiff’s

claim

for

willful violation of the automatic stay “should probably have
been

referred

to

the

bankruptcy

court

under

[the

district

court’s standing order of reference],” but deciding that “the
defect [was] not jurisdictional”).
Moreover, neither Houck nor the Substitute Trustee objected
to

the

district

bankruptcy court.

court’s

failure

to

refer

this

case

to

the

Accordingly, any claim that the case should

have been tried in the bankruptcy court was waived or forfeited.
See Stern, 131 S. Ct. at 2607-08 (holding that the failure to
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raise the statutory limitations of § 157 amounted to a waiver or
forfeiture); Home Ins. Co., 154 F.3d at 742 (finding that the
district court had committed no reversible error in failing to
refer

the

matter

to

the

bankruptcy

court

because,

in

part,

neither of the parties challenged the district court’s decision
to hear the case).
At

bottom,

we

hold

that

the

district

court

had

subject

matter jurisdiction over Houck’s § 362(k) claim and therefore
that the court had authority to rule on the Substitute Trustee’s
motion to dismiss Houck’s claims against it, to which we now
turn.

IV
On the merits, Houck contends that the district court erred
in dismissing, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6),
her § 362(k) claim against the Substitute Trustee, arguing that
the

court

applied

the

wrong

legal

standard

and

that

her

complaint was legally sufficient under the proper standard.
In dismissing her claim, the district court applied the
standard:

“[I]f

after

taking

the

complaint’s

well-pleaded

factual allegations as true, a lawful alternative explanation
appears a more likely cause of the complained of behavior, the
claim

for

quotation

relief
marks

is

not

omitted).

plausible.”
The

22

court

(Citation
then

and

found

internal
that

the

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complaint

Filed: 07/01/2015

was

allegations

“replete

that

the

Pg: 23 of 33

with

generalized

[foreclosure]

sale

and

was

conclusory

‘improper’

or

‘conducted improperly’” and that “[t]he only specific factual
allegation

against

[the

Substitute

Trustee

was]

that

it

conducted the foreclosure sale in violation of the bankruptcy
stay.”

More specifically, the court focused on the elements of

a § 362(k) claim and noted that Houck had “failed to allege that
[she] sent notice of the second [bankruptcy] petition to [the
Substitute Trustee] or that [the Substitute Trustee] had any
notice

of

the

petition,”

thus

precluding

any

allegation

of

willfulness.
Houck argues that the district court improperly created a
balancing test for ruling on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion and that we
should “summarily reject[]” it because “it has no legal basis
and is logically unworkable.”

And as to the court’s finding

that the complaint was factually insufficient, she argues simply
that the complaint did sufficiently allege that the Substitute
Trustee

had

notice

of

her

bankruptcy

petition,

pointing

to

numerous paragraphs in her complaint.
It

is

well

established

that

a

motion

filed

under

Rule

12(b)(6) challenges the legal sufficiency of a complaint, see
Francis v. Giacomelli, 588 F.3d 186, 192 (4th Cir. 2009), and
that the legal sufficiency is determined by assessing whether
the complaint contains sufficient facts, when accepted as true,
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to “state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face,”
Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl.
Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)).

This plausibility

standard requires only that the complaint’s factual allegations
“be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative
level.”
In

Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555.
light

of

these

well-established

principles,

we

agree

with Houck that the district court’s articulated standard was
erroneous.
factual

While the court correctly accepted the complaint’s

allegations

as

true,

it

incorrectly

undertook

to

determine whether a lawful alternative explanation appeared more
likely.

To survive a motion to dismiss, a plaintiff need not

demonstrate

that

her

right

alternative

explanations

to

are

relief

less

is

likely;

probable

or

that

rather,

she

must

merely advance her claim “across the line from conceivable to
plausible.”

Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570.

If her explanation is

plausible, her complaint survives a motion to dismiss under Rule
12(b)(6),
alternative

regardless

of

explanation.

whether
The

there

district

is

a

more

court’s

plausible

inquiry

into

whether an alternative explanation was more probable undermined
the well-established plausibility standard.
Turning to Houck’s complaint, it sought to state a claim
for relief under 11 U.S.C. § 362(k), which, as we have noted,
creates

a

cause

of

action

for
24

an

individual

injured

by

a

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violation of the automatic stay imposed by § 362(a).

To recover

under § 362(k), a plaintiff must show (1) that the defendant
violated the stay imposed by § 362(a), (2) that the violation
was

willful,

violation.

and

(3)

that

the

plaintiff

was

injured

by

the

See, e.g., Garden v. Cent. Neb. Hous. Corp., 719

F.3d 899, 906 (8th Cir. 2013).
The

district

court

acknowledged

that

Houck’s

complaint

adequately alleged that the Substitute Trustee violated the stay
imposed

by

§

362(a).

But

the

court

determined

that

the

complaint insufficiently alleged that the Substitute Trustee had
notice

of

Houck’s

second

bankruptcy

petition

and

thus

willfully when it sold her homestead in foreclosure.
did

not

address

the

Substitute

Trustee’s

acted

The court

additional

argument

that the complaint also failed to allege adequately that Houck
had

been

injured

by

the

automatic-stay

violation.

Upon

our

examination of the complaint, however, we conclude that neither
position can be sustained, as the complaint adequately alleged
that

the

Substitute

Trustee

had

notice

of

Houck’s

second

bankruptcy petition and that Houck sustained injury as a result
of the violation.
By way of background, the complaint alleged that LifeStore
was

Houck’s

lender;

that

Grid

Financial

was

the

collection

agency for LifeStore; that the Substitute Trustee conducted the
foreclosure sale on behalf of LifeStore and Grid Financial; and
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that the Hutchens Law Firm represented these defendants in the
foreclosure proceedings.
The complaint then alleged that on December 16, 2011, Houck
filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition “to stop the foreclosure
and keep the homestead.”
bankruptcy

petition,

Compl. ¶ 62.

Houck

It alleged that in her

“noticed

LifeStore

Bank,”

Compl.

¶ 64, and that, on the same day that Houck filed the petition,
her husband “called [the Hutchens Law Firm] and notified them of
the bankruptcy filing,” Compl. ¶ 65.

It detailed that call as

follows:
[Houck’s husband] told the person who answered the
phone that [Houck] had filed her bankruptcy petition.
The person on the phone said, “Hold on.”
She then
told him that she pulled up the file for Diana Houck
and acknowledged that they had a file for her.
[Houck’s husband] gave her the new bankruptcy case
number at that time.
He mentioned that it was a new
filing, filed that day. That was the end of the phone
call.
Compl. ¶ 65.
that

Houck

The complaint further alleged that on the same day
filed

the

petition,

her

husband

also

LifeStore by telephone and spoke with Anne Jones.”

“contacted

Compl. ¶ 66.

And it also detailed that call as follows:
He told her that [Houck] had filed a bankruptcy
[petition] that day. Ms. Jones said that people often
claim to have filed a bankruptcy without actually
filing and that [LifeStore] intended to wait for the
Court’s notice, or words to that effect.
Compl.

¶ 66.

information

and

The

complaint

belief[,]

further

LifeStore
26

alleged

received

that,

notice

“[u]pon
from

the

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AACER system of the bankruptcy filing on December 16, 2011, the
date that [Houck] filed the petition.”

Compl. ¶ 67.

it

noticed

alleged

petition

that

the

petition.”

the

same

defendants

way

they

Compl. ¶ 69.

“were

were

under

of

notice

Finally,

the

of

second

the

first

Based on these allegations of notice,

the complaint concluded that the defendants “violated 11 U.S.C.
§ 362 by intentionally and knowingly foreclosing on [Houck’s]
real

property

protection
added).

of

while
the

they

knew

automatic

that

stay.”

[Houck]

was

Compl.

under

¶ 93

the

(emphasis

It is difficult to imagine that a court could demand

more specificity with respect to the allegations of notice than
the details that Houck provided in her complaint.
With
Houck

respect

failed

adequately
homestead

to

to

the

allege

detailed.
was

sold

Substitute
injury,

The
in

the

complaint

violation

of

Trustee’s

argument

complaint

is

alleged

that

the

automatic

that

likewise
Houck’s
stay

on

December 20, 2011, to Fannie Mae, the insurer of LifeStore’s
loan, although the exhibits to the complaint show that it was
“Life

Store

Bank

c/o

purchased the property.

Grid

Financial

Services,

Compl. ¶ 74 & Ex. K.

Inc.,”

that

The complaint

further alleged that, “[u]pon information and belief, [Fannie
Mae] returned the homestead to LifeStore,” which “is presently
attempting to develop the land for sale.”

27

Compl. ¶¶

86-87.

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Finally, with respect to how the violation of the stay injured
her, the complaint alleged:
Because [Houck] and [her husband] were forced to move
from the homestead to a smaller cabin, they suffered
unreasonable loss including but not limited to:
a)

Loss of the rental income from the
smaller
cabin
as
[Houck]
and
[her
husband] were forced to move into the
cabin.

b)

Loss of [Houck’s] grandmother’s antiques
as there was nowhere to store them.

c)

Loss of value of four collector cars as
they are no longer being stored in a
garage.

d)

Loss of
stand.

e)

Loss of barn where [Houck] kept farm
equipment and vegetables prior to sale.

f)

Loss of
space.

g)

Loss of all of their seasonal clothing
because of loss of storage space.

h)

Lost
all
of
their
sentimental
possessions because of loss of storage
space.

i)

Emotional injury.

income

from

furniture

[Houck’s]

because

of

produce

smaller

Compl. ¶ 89.
In sum, we conclude that the complaint alleged facts that
more than adequately support Houck’s claims (1) that she gave
the

defendants,

including

the

Substitute

Trustee

through

its

attorneys, notice of her December 16, 2011 bankruptcy filing and

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(2) that as a result of the defendants’ violation of the stay,
she was injured.
Rather
detail,
allege

than

the
that

address

Substitute
she

Houck’s

Trustee

provided

it

factual

argues

with

allegations

that

notice

Houck

of

her

in

failed

any
to

bankruptcy

petition in writing, which, it argues, she was required to do
under 11 U.S.C. § 342(c)(1) (“If notice is required to be given
by the debtor to a creditor . . . , such notice shall contain
the name, address, and last 4 digits of the [social security]
number of the debtor”).

The Substitute Trustee reasons that,

because it did not receive such written notice before it sold
Houck’s

homestead,

automatic

it

stay.

could

This

not

have

argument,

willfully
however,

violated
distorts

the
the

requirements of § 362(k), which does not include any provision
that a particular form of notice be given.

Rather, it imposes

liability for a willful violation of the automatic stay.

We

agree with Houck that, because the complaint alleges that the
Substitute Trustee had actual notice of her December 16, 2011
bankruptcy petition when it sold her homestead, it sufficiently
alleges that the Substitute Trustee’s sale of her homestead on
December 20 with such notice was willful.

See Alan N. Resnick &

Henry J. Sommer, 3 Collier on Bankruptcy ¶ 362.02, at 362-21
(16th

ed.

2011)

(“A

party

that

has

received

notice

of

the

bankruptcy case, even if only oral notice, can be sanctioned for
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violation of the stay”); see also ZiLOG, Inc. v. Corning (In re
ZiLOG, Inc.), 450 F.3d 996, 1008 (9th Cir. 2006) (“‘[A] party
with

knowledge

knowledge

of

of

the

bankruptcy
automatic

proceedings

stay’

for

is

charged

purposes

of

with

awarding

damages under [§ 362(k)]” (quoting Knupfer v. Lindblade (In re
Dyer), 322 F.3d 1178, 1191 (9th Cir. 2003))).
At bottom, we conclude that Houck stated a plausible claim
for relief under § 362(k).

V
As an alternative ground for dismissal of Houck’s claims,
the Substitute Trustee contends that Houck was not an “eligible
debtor” when she filed her second bankruptcy petition within 180
days

of

petition,

her

first

filed

on

petition
December

and
16,

therefore
2011,

did

that
not

the

second

automatically

trigger the stay under § 362(a).
It is true that even though the automatic stay generally
operates

“without

the

necessity

for

judicial

intervention,”

Sunshine Dev., Inc. v. FDIC, 33 F.3d 106, 113 (1st Cir. 1994),
certain filings do not trigger the stay.

For example, a filing

under 11 U.S.C. § 301, like Houck’s Chapter 13 petitions, does
not operate as a stay “of any act to enforce any lien against or
security

interest

in

real

property

.

.

.

if

the

debtor

is

ineligible under [11 U.S.C. §] 109(g) to be a debtor in a case

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under [Title 11].”

Pg: 31 of 33

11 U.S.C. § 362(b)(21)(A).

Section 109(g)

in turn provides in relevant part:
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
no individual . . . may be a debtor under this title
who has been a debtor in a case pending under this
title at any time in the preceding 180 days if -(1) the case was dismissed by the court for
willful failure of the debtor to abide
by orders of the court, or to appear
before the court in proper prosecution
of the case . . . .
The 180-day filing ban is “an extraordinary statutory remedy for
perceived abuses of the [Bankruptcy] Code.”

Frieouf v. United

States (In re Frieouf), 938 F.2d 1099, 1104 (10th Cir. 1991)
(second emphasis added) (citation and internal quotation marks
omitted).
While Houck’s second bankruptcy petition was filed within
180

days

after

the

dismissal

of

her

first

petition,

the

Substitute Trustee has not shown that the first petition was
dismissed

because

Houck

willfully

failed

to

abide

by

the

bankruptcy court’s orders or to appear in proper prosecution of
her

case.

bankruptcy

Indeed,
court

the

record

dismissed

shows

Houck’s

to

first

the

contrary.

petition,

which

The
she

filed pro se, because she “failed to file certain schedules,
statements, or other documents.”
failure

being

willful

--

i.e.,

It made no mention of Houck’s
knowing

and

deliberate.

And

tellingly, the bankruptcy court did not dismiss her case with

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prejudice, which bankruptcy courts “frequently” do when imposing
the 180-day filing ban authorized by § 109(g).

See Colonial

Auto Ctr. v. Tomlin (In re Tomlin), 105 F.3d 933, 937 (4th Cir.
1997).
Moreover, when Houck filed her second petition within 180
days of her first petition’s dismissal, no party to the second
petition

questioned

Similarly,

when

whether

the

Houck

bankruptcy

was

court

an

eligible

ultimately

debtor.
dismissed

Houck’s second petition, it did so because she failed to satisfy
§ 109(h)(1)’s

credit-counseling

requirement,

not

because

she

failed to qualify as a debtor pursuant to § 109(g)(1).
Whether Houck was an eligible debtor when she filed her
second

petition

is

evidentiary support.
reject

the

a

fact-bound

question

that

requires

Finding no such evidence in the record, we

Substitute

Trustee’s

alternative

ground

for

allegations

were

dismissal.

VI
Based

on

its

conclusion

that

Houck’s

insufficient to state a claim under § 362(k), the district court
also

concluded

Because

the

that

court

her

“state

predicated

its

law

claims

dismissal

of

fail
the

as

well.”

state

law

claims on a finding that we now reverse, we vacate its order
dismissing

those

claims

as

well.

32

In

remanding

them

to

the

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court,

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however,

we

Pg: 33 of 33

express

no

opinion

as

to

their

merit.
*

*

*

The judgment of the district court is vacated; the court’s
October 1, 2013 order dismissing Houck’s § 362(k) claim against
the Substitute Trustee is reversed; and the case is remanded for
further proceedings.
VACATED, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED

33